


Puppet

by Marsalias



Series: Dannymay 2019 [25]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: 'missing scene', Danny has a VERY bad time, Gen, Oneshot, Warning for abuse, crossposted on ffn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:41:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24359743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marsalias/pseuds/Marsalias
Summary: The newest addition to Circus Gothica curled in the corner of the train car, rocking back and forth. The other unwilling performers watched him with concern. He wasn't the smallest of them, that was Green Kid, the dwarf, but he was obviously significantly younger. The ghosts might be under Freakshow's control, but they still retained their personalities, and were even allowed to express them, when Freakshow wasn't around.
Series: Dannymay 2019 [25]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1757458
Comments: 12
Kudos: 277
Collections: Love dan





	Puppet

The newest addition to Circus Gothica curled in the corner of the train car, rocking back and forth. The other unwilling performers watched him with concern. He wasn't the smallest of them, that was Green Kid, the dwarf, but he was obviously significantly younger. The ghosts might be under Freakshow's control, but they still retained their personalities, and were even allowed to express them, when Freakshow wasn't around.

"This isn't right," said Green Kid.

Goliath shrugged his massive shoulders. "'Snot like we can do anything about it."

"He's not like us," he said. "He's not from the Circus."

"Doesn't matter. He is now."

"No," said Elastica, joining the conversation for the first time. "He isn't." She approached from where she was standing in the opposite corner, and crouched down so that she was at the same level as the young ghost. "We're mostly fine, but that's because we like the circus. We've always done the circus. We're performers. He isn't."

She edged closer. The young ghost was whispering something under his breath. It was all but unintelligible.

"He's got a different Obsession," said Green Kid.

Goliath hissed. "We don't talk about that. Not here."

It probably didn't matter. Even if Lydia was mute, she could still tell Freakshow about things like Obsessions, and Freakshow himself possessed a lot of knowledge of the supernatural. Still, they didn't like talking about ghost things where he could hear. Some things should stay secret, should stay private, shouldn't be given to humans.

"Too young," said Elastica. "Hey. Kiddo." She frowned, wracking her brain for his name. She might have heard it, when they were fighting a couple of days ago. "Inviso-Bill?"

The ghost looked up, red eyes flaring in fury. "That's _not_ my name."

"What is it then?" asked Elastica, carefully. Most ghosts were touchy about things like names.

"Phantom."

He really was young, if he thought that literally calling himself 'ghost' was a good idea. He was probably _new,_ as well. Taken together, he wouldn't be very good at regulating his Obsession, which would be... Honestly, Elastica didn't know what it would be. She hadn't a lot of experience with children. Bad, probably.

"I'm Elastica," she said. He'd forget. He'd forget several times, before adjusted to what the staff did to him. "That's Goliath and Green Kid."

"Hi," said Phantom, dubiously. He blinked hard, and rubbed his eyes before going back to muttering. "Go to the train, get in, stay there, go to the train, get in, stay there, go to the train, get in, stay there, go to the train..."

"Hey," said Elastica. "You're here, it's okay. We'll help you out. We're all friends here."

"Friends?" asked Phantom. Tears welled in his eyes, their red inner light reflecting from them weirdly. "Friends?" He hiccuped. "Where-?" His irises started to bleed green. Elastica jolted back in shock. "Where am I? Where are my friends? I want-"

There was a thump. "Enough!" shouted Freakshow, staff in hand.

Phantom's eyes quickly went red again, all of his attention fixed on Freakshow. Elastica's focus pulled that way as well, but she had mastered the skill of pulling herself back, dissociating, letting herself just watch, without connecting to what Freakshow was making her do. All three of them had learned how to do that. They would go insane, otherwise.

Freakshow strode farther into the room, stopping in front of Phantom. He hit the young ghost with the end of the staff. "Get up, ghost."

Phantom, shaking, slid up the wall, leaning into it. Freakshow shoved the orb on the end of the shaft into Phantom's face, hard enough to make the back of the boy's head hit the wall with a crack. Phantom's eyes were wide, reflecting the orb's swirling glow.

"What is this about 'friends?' Explain."

"I want... my friends. Want... I... want my friends... Please." His voice was stilted, words halting. "My friends." Something green flickered in the back of his eyes, even with the orb right in his face. "I need..."

"What friends?" demanded Freakshow.

"Sam... and Tucker. They're my best... friends." There was that hiccuping sound again.

Freakshow sneered. "You're a ghost," he said. "Ghosts don't have friends. _You_ don't have friends."

"My friends-"

"You. Don't. Have. Friends. Get that through your head. Repeat it a few times."

"You don't have friends, you don't have friends, you don't have friends."

The train car would have been silent except for Freakshow's breathing, anyway, but the silence was so, so heavy. Freakshow smiled slowly, and his smile was sick and cruel.

"You're right. I don't have friends, but I don't need them. I have puppets like you, isn't that right?"

"That's right."

"Now, tell me all about how you don't have any friends, because you're a ghost, puppet."

"I have friends."

Freakshow seized Phantom by the collar and threw him into the center of the car. Ghosts were light, almost weightless, so even someone like Freakshow could do that with ease. Phantom got to his feet again, still following Freakshow's earlier order.

"Dance for me, puppet."

Phantom began to dance. He was... bad. Pathetically bad, actually.

"Repeat after me, 'I am a ghost, I have no friends.'"

"I am a ghost, I have no friends," said Phantom, a little breathlessly.

"Again."

"I am a ghost, I have no friends."

"Good. Now keep doing that." Freakshow turned to Elastica and the other ghosts. "As you can see, our newest act isn't exactly what we'd call a great dancer. Every time he does something wrong, hit him. Oh, and you, dwarf," he said, sprawling into a throne-like chair, "get me a drink."

.

"I think that's enough," said Freakshow. He had changed his orders to the ghosts a few times at this point, and had occasionally stopped them so that he could interrogate and harangue Phantom. Elastica braced herself for new horrors. "We want him to be in top shape, tonight." Freakshow laughed. "He'll be very busy, after all, starting with the evening show."

Freakshow got up, and walked to where Phantom had collapsed on the ground. The young ghost had been beaten black and green, ectoplasm seeping from already-healing cuts.

The end of the staff hit the boy in the stomach.

"What do you say to that, puppet?"

"I am a ghost," Phantom said hoarsely, "I have no friends."

Freakshow's face twisted in displeasure. "No, no, no. Not that. _What do you say?"_

The ringmaster dropped the end of the staff on one of Phantom's hands. The ghost squeaked.

"Y-yes, master."

"Very good! There might be hope for you yet." Freakshow walked out of the train car without another word.

Phantom, meanwhile, pulled himself across the floor until he was back in his corner again.

"Phantom-" started Elastica.

The young ghost responded with a weak hiss.

"Don't bother," said Green Kid. "He's barely knows what's going on. He's not going to trust us after that."

"Kid," said Goliath. The giant's hands were shaking. "He was really insistent 'bout his friends. What if- What if they were _it?_ Like, you know."

"Then he'll fade. It'll be kinder than this."


End file.
